Transgender former journalist Danica Roem (above) has secured the Democratic nomination to run in Virginia’s 13th District against incumbent Bob Marshall (right), one of the state’s most vocal anti-LGBT legislators.

In 2010, discussing his attempt to ban LGBT people from Virginia’s National Guard, Marshall said:

“If I needed a blood transfusion and the guy next to me had committed sodomy 14 times in the last month, I’d be worried.

“It’s a distraction when I’m on the battlefield and have to concentrate on the enemy 600 yards away and I’m worried about this guy who’s got eyes on me.”

Earlier this year, he introduced what has been described as one of the most dangerous bathroom bills in the country. Mother Jones reports that the proposed legislation went a step further than other states by requiring schools to out students to their parents within 24 hours if they asked “to be recognized or treated as the opposite sex.”

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“Let me make this really clear for you: When the people of the 13th District elect a transgender woman to replace the most anti-LGBT legislator in the South, it will be an act of certainty, and it will be a defining moment that will resonate across the country.”

Reporters: My surgical history includes removing 3 wisdom teeth, a planter's wart on my right foot & a mole on my back. It's not relevant.

However, she told the Washington Post that she is more concerned with the important issues. Marshall, she said, “is more concerned with where I go to the bathroom than where his constituents go to work…I’m running a race on improving transportation rather than ensuring discrimination.”

“Danica Roem is a leader in a national movement of trans candidates who are determined to become a voice for their community in the halls of power. This historic primary win sets up a general election battle where voters will choose between ‘Bigot Bob’ Marshall – the most anti-LGBTQ member of the Virginia state legislature – or Danica, a proud trans woman who is committed to representing all people in her district. I am confident voters will choose leadership over divisiveness and make Danica the first out trans candidate to win and serve in a state legislature.”

Stephen Farnsworth, an expert on Virginia politics and a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, said that although Roem is in with a shot, it will be incredibly hard to predict how exactly this contest will play out.

He noted that while Marshall “has managed to win despite having a target on his back election cycle after election cycle,” Roem’s best chance is to emphasize constituent service issues rather that national social agenda issues.

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